and then there is this man, alexander, ferdman organizing a crime ring in texas. it hasn't stopped him from coming to california, setting up a drug rehab clinic and billing taxpayers. even though, felons are barred from running drug med cal centers. >> how can a guy like you run a drug rehab in california. this is a major insurance car crash scheme in texas. >> i was convicted, but it's not what it seems. >> reporter: in the last two fiscal years, taxpayers spent nearly $186 million supposedly treating drug and alcohol abuse patients in california. our investigation with the center for investigative reporting found half of that money, or about $94 million has gone to clinics that have shown questionable billing practices or signs of fraud. joy jaffers former drug medical supper visor says she complained to the state for years about all the obvious fraud. >> we found billing records for people in jail. one person dead. people who said they didn't need this kind of treatment. >> uh-huh. >> clinics closed on a certain day, billing for that certain day. >> uh-huh. >>